Wildlife
Hedgehogs are the only British mammal with spines. When threatened they will roll into a tight ball, with the spines providing sharp protection from predators. Young hedgehogs are born with soft spines under the skin to protect mum, with a second set of spines emerging within days. One peculiarity to all hedgehogs is the way they cover their spines in foamy saliva, the reason why they do this remains a mystery although it has been suggested it might be a sexual attractant, or be used to reduce parasites, or as additional protection. Hedgehogs aren't fussy when it comes to food: worms, slugs, frogs and even bird eggs can be taken during a two kilometre nightly forage, a resistance to adder venom can also put this snake on the menu.
Did you know?
The name for a baby hedgehog is a hoglet.
Scientific name: Erinaceus europaeus
Rank: Species
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Helping hogs!
Making tiny adjustments in your garden could be a massive help to hedgehogs.
Making tiny adjustments in your garden could be a massive help to hedgehogs.
City hogs
Hedgehogs need at least 12 gardens to themselves before they deign to move in.
Hedgehogs need at least 12 gardens to themselves before they deign to move in.
Hedgehog success
Hedgehogs have guaranteed survival by adapting to new habitats.
Hedgehogs have guaranteed survival by adapting to new habitats.
A hedgehog's history of Britain
Conflict and love through the ages, between humans and hedgehogs.
Conflict and love through the ages, between humans and hedgehogs.
Make a hog heaven!
Hedgehog resilience has finally met its match with the taste for tidy gardens.
Hedgehog resilience has finally met its match with the taste for tidy gardens.
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The Hedgehog can be found in a number of locations including: Europe, Russia, United Kingdom, Wales. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Hedgehog distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Least Concern
Population trend: Stable
Year assessed: 2008
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
The European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), Common hedgehog , is a hedgehog species found in northern and western Europe. It is about 20 to 30 cm in length and adult weight typically ranges from 600g (after hibernation) to 1,200 g (prior to hibernation) and occasionally may reach as much as 1,600 g. Males tend to be slightly larger than females.
The European Hedgehog lives in woodland, farmland and suburban areas. It is nocturnal, and if alarmed will roll into a ball to protecting itself against potential predators with its spines.
Unlike the smaller, warmer climate species, the European Hedgehog may hibernate in the winter. It is omnivorous, feeding on a wide range of invertebrates, but prefers slugs, earthworms, beetles and other insects. The preferred arthropods are the millipedes Glomeris marginata and Tachypodoiulus niger as well as the ground beetle Carabus nemoralis. It is also known to eat frogs, small rodents, young birds and birds' eggs.
Blonde hedgehogs have a rare recessive gene giving rise to beady, button-black eyes and creamy-coloured spines; they are not strictly speaking albino. They are extremely rare except on the Channel Island of Alderney where population of around a thousand is believed to exist. They allegedly carry no fleas, and are a localised island variant of Erinaceus europaeus.
A low coverage assembly of the genome of Erinaceus europaeus was released by the Broad Institute in June 2006 as part of the Mammalian Genome Project.
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Farmland
Hedgerows
Mediterranean forest
Parkland
Taiga
Broadleaf forest
Coniferous forest
Tundra
Urban
Predation defence
Hierarchical
Acoustic communication
Hibernation
Maternal care
Nocturnal
Torpor
Viviparous
Burrower
Active at birth